"A Man Escaped" (Post 5)

Is there anything else you'd like to discuss about this film?

"A Man Escaped" (Post 4)

Sound in Bresson's films is often associated with off-screen space. (In other words, we often do not see what it is that is making the sound we hear.) Why do you think this is? How does the recurrence of off-screen sound reinforce the major themes of "A Man Escaped?"

"A Man Escaped" (Post 3)

Robert Bresson said, "The way we handle objects in our everyday activities indicates a deeper level of our unconscious more accurately than the words we utter or dramatic actions we engage in."

Discuss the role of objects (and their transformation) in this film.

"A Man Escaped" (Post 2)

Discuss the second title of the film: "The Wind Bloweth Where It Listeth". Do you think it reinforces or contradicts the first title, which emphasizes human agency?

"A Man Escaped" (Post 1)

I'm sorry about having to cancel last night's screening. Please try to watch the film between now and Sunday and comment on one or more of the following questions (provided in separate posts). Write at least two full paragraphs, please. Here's the first question to consider:

What do you think this film's main message is? Do you believe it is religious (Christian)? Political? Artistic? Moral? Please give some justification for your response.

Monsieur Hulot's suitcase

Mirrors in "Daybreak" / "Le Jour se lève"

In this film, Carné's use of mirrors has a highly symbolic value. What do these two stills suggest about the symbolic meaning of mirrors in "Daybreak?"

"Le Jour se lève" / "Daybreak"

In the French section yesterday, we discussed this film as a critique of industrialization. What are some of the other lessons one learns from this film, about human nature, French society, the construction of identity, the role of art/cinema in society, etc.?

"La Grande illusion"/"Grand Illusion"

Any further comments on this amazing film? In class tomorrow, we're going to focus one sequence in particular and discuss how the sequence is constructed in a way that reinforces some of themes we discussed yesterday.

Have you noticed any ways in which formal elements (sound, editing, mise-en-scène, camera shots, camera movements, etc) reinforce those themes?

"Un Chien andalou" ("An Andalusian Dog")

There hasn't been much discussion on this blog yet, but maybe this Buñuel and Dalí film will inspire you. Please feel free to comment on any aspect of the film, but here are a few comments that were made about the film (culled from the _French Film Guide_ of Elza Adamowicz):

--"a desperate, passionate call to murder" (Luis Buñuel)
--a film of "adolescence and death" (Salvador Dalí)
--"that extraordinary film...penetrating so deeply into horror" (Georges Bataille)
--"a tiny little shit of a film" (Frederico Garcia Lorca)
--"a gob of spit in the face of art" (Henry Miller)

What do YOU think?

Lumière Brothers' films

I'll be very interested to hear which of these short films you found the most (or least) interesting.

Introduction to I208 / F356

Welcome to Intro to French Cinema (I208 / F356)! Feel free to participate in blog discussions about any aspect of the course. I look forward to our in-class and online discussions.